


Checking In

by ScentedStrangerCreation



Category: Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Heartache, Kaidan Appreciation Week, POV Kaidan Alenko, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-15
Updated: 2019-10-15
Packaged: 2020-12-16 23:36:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21044648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ScentedStrangerCreation/pseuds/ScentedStrangerCreation
Summary: Kaidan stops by to chat with Ashley





	Checking In

**Author's Note:**

> Kaidan Alenko Appreciation Week - Squad Day

“Well, I did it.” Kaidan leaned his arms against the railing, a bottle of beer hanging from his hand, “_Staff Commander_.” The title sounded strange on his tongue, “I outrank her now, you know?” He smiled, taking a sip from the bottle, “But I guess you never really outrank the Savior of the Citadel.” 

He finished off the bottle and crouched down to grab a new one before returning to his spot. “I, uh—, I know it took me a while to get here. Sorry ‘bout that.” He kept his eyes fixed on his hands, “But to be fair, this is _pretty_ far out of the way.” He looked up at the tall, stone memorial wall in front of him.

_Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams_

Her old colony had erected it some time after Virmire and the Citadel, he wasn’t sure exactly when. This was the first time he’d seen it in-person. It’d been almost a year since he’d seen _anyone_ from the old crew in-person. He and Liara wrote each other sporadically, and he’d grab a drink with Joker on the rare occasion they were in the same system, but most had disappeared after Shepard’s funeral. Everyone was busy living their own lives. Busy trying to forget or move on, or both.

“I really miss you, Ash.” He looked back down at his hands, peeling at the label around his bottle, “I really miss _her_.” He took another sip of his drink in silence.

_Miss_ wasn’t the right word. It failed to capture the magnitude of the void inside him. He wasn’t sure there was a single word that could. Even after two years, his chest echoed with an empty ache he couldn’t shake. It was always there: a pulsing void that couldn’t be filled, threatening to implode at any moment.

“I know what you would say, ‘_use it, LT, be better. Take that stick out of your ass and beat some heads in with it._’” He laughed, but it was the laugh he’d been practicing. It sounded hollow and artificial to his ears, but it kept people from asking too many questions, poking too deep.

“You might be happy to hear that I’m sort of seeing someone—,” he paused, “Who am I kidding, you’d tell me to save it for my gossip blog.” He laughed again, this time it felt more natural. It was quick and quiet, but at least it was real.

“It’s, uh—, it’s nothing serious. Just a couple dates, but it’s nice, you know? Something simple. Something…normal.” He tapped his fingers against the bottle, “She’s—she’s nice…smart.” He shook his head with a small grin, “ I can practically feel you rolling your eyes.”

“Anyway,” he pushed off the railing, straightening up, “I should go. Just wanted to stop by and say hey. Let you know I’m thinking about you.” He tipped his bottle towards the plaque before turning away, finishing off the drink.

He tossed the empty bottles into a near by bin before facing the memorial one last time, “See ya, Ash.”

With that, he headed down the long corridor back towards the hangar. He didn’t want to miss his flight to Horizon.


End file.
